MP Anthony Housefather to stay on with Liberals after period of 'serious reflection'

MP Anthony Housefather says he will remain in the Liberal caucus despite his concerns about the party's support for a motion on Palestinian statehood.

«The adoption of the motion and all the events that preceded it have angered me as much as they angered most of the Jewish Canadians that I have communicated with,» the Montreal MP said in a press release late Friday.

«But I also know that my core values remain Liberal ones and after serious reflection, I believe my greatest value to Canadians is staying in caucus to advocate for the centrist classical Liberal Party that I believe in.»

Housefather told CBC news Network's that recent conversations he's had with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding his concerns about antisemitism in Canada helped him decide to stay with the party.

«I had very, very painful discussions where we talked about what I felt was not enough action by the government. And he said, 'Come work with me, come work with [special envoy on Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism] Deborah Lyons, play a leadership role on this file and we will fix it,'» he told host David Cochrane.

«That was a meaningful thing to me and I want to be part of that work.»

Housefather said last month he needed to re-evaluate his place in the Liberal caucus after many of his fellow Liberal MPs supported the NDP motion, saying he believed «a line had been crossed.»

The NDP motion, tabled in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, originally called on the government to officially recognize Palestine as a state and to «suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel.»

Most Liberal MPs supported the motion after some last-minute amendments. The final wording urged the government to «work with international